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Healthcare education is constantly evolving to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of modern medicine. One major trend that has emerged in recent years is the increasing use of technology in healthcare education. From virtual simulations to online courses, technology has revolutionized the way healthcare professionals are trained and educated. The benefits of incorporating technology into healthcare education are numerous and far-reaching, including improved patient outcomes, more efficient and effective learning, and increased accessibility for healthcare students. One of the most significant advantages of technology in healthcare education is the ability to provide hands-on, interactive experiences that simulate real-life scenarios. Virtual simulations and virtual patients allow healthcare students to practice their skills and make mistakes in a controlled environment, without the risk of harm to real patients. This type of experiential learning is invaluable for building confidence and competence, and has been shown to improve patient outcomes. In addition to providing practical experiences, technology also enables more efficient and effective learning. Online courses, e-books, and other digital resources allow healthcare students to access information and resources from anywhere, at any time. This type of flexible learning is particularly important for students who may have other commitments, such as work or family. Finally, technology has the potential to increase accessibility to healthcare education, particularly for students in remote or underserved areas. Online courses and virtual simulations can be delivered to students regardless of their location, making healthcare education more accessible to a wider range of individuals. In conclusion, technology is playing an increasingly important role in modern healthcare education. By providing hands-on experiences, more efficient and effective learning, and increased accessibility, technology is helping healthcare professionals to become the best they can be. If you're a healthcare professional or student, it's never been more important to stay up-to-date with technology and its impact on your field. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development).

In today's fast-paced world of information overload, it's easy to fall prey to misleading information. This is especially true in the healthcare field, where one small mistake can have serious consequences. Unfortunately, there is a growing trend of misinformation being spread through predatory articles. These articles, published in unethical and often fake journals, present false information as fact, and can be incredibly harmful to healthcare education. Predatory articles are usually low-quality, poorly researched pieces that are made to look like legitimate scientific papers. They often use misleading or false information to make claims about health and wellness that are not supported by scientific evidence. This type of misinformation can be incredibly damaging to healthcare professionals, who rely on accurate information to make informed decisions about patient care. One of the biggest dangers of predatory articles is that they can spread false information about treatments, diagnoses, and other important medical concepts. For example, a predatory article might claim that a certain herbal supplement can cure a specific medical condition, even though there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. Another major concern is that predatory articles can erode public trust in the healthcare system. When people see articles that present false information as fact, they may start to question the credibility of all scientific research and healthcare professionals. This can have a ripple effect, making it harder for healthcare professionals to communicate accurate information and educate the public about important health issues. To protect against the spread of misinformation, it's important for healthcare professionals and educators to be vigilant about the sources of information they use. This means checking the credibility of journals and the authors of articles, and ensuring that information is based on well-conducted, peer-reviewed research. It's also important for healthcare professionals to stay up-to-date on the latest research and developments in their field, and to be critical of any information that seems too good to be true. By doing all of these things we can ensure that we have the best possible information for our students and patients. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development).

In the world of healthcare, accuracy is key. But in today's age of predatory articles, separating fact from fiction can be like navigating a minefield. These articles, published in unethical and often fake journals, spread false information that can harm patients and erode public trust in the healthcare system. So, how do healthcare professionals ensure they're using credible information? The answer lies in the ethics of publishing in health professions. Imagine a world where your doctor makes a diagnosis based on false information. Scary, right? That's why healthcare professionals have a crucial responsibility to ensure the information they use and disseminate is accurate and based on well-conducted, peer-reviewed research. This means being vigilant about the sources of information they use and critically evaluating any information that seems too good to be true. But what about when healthcare professionals themselves are authors? They have a responsibility to ensure their own research is conducted in an ethical and transparent manner. This includes avoiding conflicts of interest, following ethical guidelines for conducting research, and being honest in reporting results. By doing so, they contribute to the credibility and integrity of the healthcare system and maintain public trust. So, next time you're reading an article, ask yourself: is this credible information that I can trust? By being informed and mindful of the ethics of publishing in health professions, healthcare professionals can ensure they have the accurate information they need to make informed decisions and provide the best possible care to their patients. And that, my friends, is a world worth striving for. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development).

Healthcare education is evolving to keep up the increasing use of technology in the provision of healthcare. From virtual simulations to online courses, technology has revolutionized the way healthcare professionals are trained and educated. The benefits of incorporating technology into healthcare education are numerous and far-reaching, including improved patient outcomes, more efficient and effective learning, and increased accessibility for healthcare students. One of the most significant advantages of technology in healthcare education is the ability to provide hands-on, interactive experiences that simulate real-life scenarios. Virtual simulations and virtual patients allow healthcare students to practice their skills and make mistakes in a controlled environment, without the risk of harm to real patients. This type of experiential learning is invaluable for building confidence and competence, and has been shown to improve patient outcomes. In addition to providing practical experiences, technology also enables more efficient and effective learning. Online courses, e-books, and other digital resources allow healthcare students to access information and resources from anywhere, at any time. This type of flexible learning is particularly important for students who may have other commitments, such as work or family. Finally, technology has the potential to increase accessibility to healthcare education, particularly for students in remote or underserved areas. Online courses and virtual simulations can be accessible to students regardless of their location. By providing hands-on experiences, more efficient and effective learning, and increased accessibility, technology helps healthcare professionals to become the best they can be. If you're a healthcare professional or student, it's never been more important to stay up-to-date with technology and its impact on your field. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development).

Get to know their names: But how? Think about getting students to make/create nameboard for themselves that they can place on the table in front of them. Make rules and don’t break them: Controlling a large class is no easy task, so create a clear and structured set of rules to control behaviour. Do not deviate from your own rules. Move around: Move around the class while making eye contact and use hand gestures. It will keep the students more engaged and interested in what you have to say. Make resources accessible: Avoid having to repeat yourself many times by making sure that they have the necessary resources at their disposal. Create groups/teams: Groups or teams can motivate students to perform better, and it promotes coherent teamwork which is important when they start working. Working with a few team leaders will also make your task easier! Persuade to participate: Keeping your students engaged in a large class is difficult. Shy students tend to avoid questions, so try putting together a plan where all students feel more inclined to participate. E.g. use tools such as flashcards that say ‘Yes’ on one side and ‘No’ on the other- and then ask the class to answer a question by choosing which side to show. Listen up: Ask others what has made teaching their large classes easier and try it out! Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development) and edited by Liz Wolvaardt (AHPEL). For more information, take a look at the following resource: 10 Tips for Teaching Large Classes | Walden University

COVID-19 has caused a lot of classes to shift online. It is important to know the basics of online teaching to avoid confusion and mishaps for your students as well as yourself. Here are a couple of useful tips: Plan ahead of time: Online classes tend to be shorter, so plan your lesson ahead of time to ensure that you do not linger on a certain topic for too long. Be more tech-savvy: Master the required technology for online teaching so that you can avoid time-consuming mishaps. Technology could also help ease lectures with apps like Microsoft Teams where you can keep attendance records of who is online and communicate with your students individually or collectively by the click of a button. It is also important to know how to contact tech support if problems arise and be acquainted with common tech problems. Create a workspace at home: Create a quiet workstation that it is spacious with a clear background where you can feel comfortable. Make sure you have a strong internet connection. Interact with your class: Make sure that communication is not only a one-way stream as it will be harder to keep your students engaged through online lectures. Ask conversational questions frequently so that your students will feel connected. Clear and regular communication: Communicating online can be difficult at times, so be clear on what they need to do and remind them regularly. If you see a student falling behind, message them and ask if something is wrong. Motivate and evoke interest: Not everyone will be excited for learning online and it is easy to skip sessions. Find ways to evoke interest in your students by making the lessons fun or implementing a reward system. Ask for feedback and keep developing yourself: See if you can get feedback from your students on the classes you present and focus on areas where you can improve. Asking other lecturers what they do can also give you some ideas. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development) and edited by Liz Wolvaardt (AHPEL). For more information, take a look at the following resource: The Best Tips And Tricks For How To Teach Online (uopeople.edu)

We all feel intimidated by a sea of faces in a lecture hall at some point in our lives, but here are some tips to help you overcome this! Make use of proper body language: Keep your shoulders back, head up, and look directly at students when speaking to them. If you look confident you will be confident. Do not rush: If you are rushing and scrambling to get through the work, it creates a negative, excitable energy. Work efficiently and gracefully. Make decisions and stick with them: Do not let the students argue or misbehave. Be in control. Make swift decisions and move on. Give a few seconds of silence before speaking: This will make sure all of your students pay attention and makes what you have to say seem more important. Do as you say: This is very important regarding your strategy to manage the class; students will respect this consistency above all else. Implement brevity: If you talk less, your words will carry more meaning. Do not talk on a specific subject for too long. Remain calm: People who portray control over their emotions are automatically more respected than those who do not. Remain cool in tense situations or confrontations. Do not just speak, listen: Give your students time to speak and do not interrupt them. They are there to contribute too, so respect what they have to say before you respond. Prepare ahead of time: An organized lecturer is respected so have a backup plan so that you are not caught off guard by something not working as expected. Be confident: Confidence is something that can be sensed by other individuals. Having confidence in your ability and knowledge will gain the respect of your students. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development) and edited by Liz Wolvaardt (AHPEL).

It is essential that healthcare professionals are fully trained, with ongoing development throughout their careers as they are responsible for the well-being of others. This is unfortunately an expensive and time-consuming procedure, but thanks to online training, the cost can be significantly reduced. But how to keep the attention of your audience? Here are five ways to get you started: Make use of graphics and visuals when presenting: Giving countless of pages filled with information is a guaranteed way to lose the interest of your students – especially busy healthcare professionals. Keeping them engaged with videos, images, and graphics will not only make things more interesting, but also easier to remember. Understand what you teach: Be sure you know exactly what you are teaching and do not read all the information from a handbook. Try to understand what you teach and how you can improve your methods along the way. Trying to just stuff everything in a course will result in the loss of interest. Implement scenario-based learning methods: Scenario-based learning is a useful tool for healthcare professionals to test new skills and processes without risk. Practice, practice, practice! Consider your target audience: If the training course is something you want to be implemented nationwide, keep the location non-specific. Think about whether it would be necessary to insert video subtitles or descriptions for images as an international audience might need more help to understand your local images. Engage with your audience through interactive elements: add things like quizzes or games to your course so that your audience keeps engaged and interested. Another useful tool is webinars, where the audience can engage with professionals and ask questions. Be sure to record these webinars and make it available for later viewing, as healthcare professionals work irregular hours. Compiled by Daniel Schoonderwoerd (Foundation for Professional Development) and edited by Liz Wolvaardt (AHPEL). For more information, please take a look at the following resource: Five Tips for Successful Online Training for Healthcare Professionals (intuto.com)

There must be a reason why some of us were spared from the global pandemic! One of them must be to gather together as SAFRIANS and African FAIMER folk at the AMEE Conference in 2022. The place was Lyon (France…just in case America also has one) and it was a wonderful experience to gather to share what we learnt (more than we think) and to similarly hear what other people are doing (or have done). But what was clear is the SAFRIANS and African FAIMER folk are naturally attracted to one another and managed to find each other in a conference of several thousand people. Maybe it was because we hover in easy reach of the food table? Or maybe because we were actually AT the conference (if one pays so many Euros that it actually hurts, then one attends come hell or high water). I learnt a bunch of new things- sometimes useful; sometimes stimulating and sometimes how NOT to present or how NOT to chair a session…..So what stood out for me? Difficult to say as one cannot attend everything at once – but I did attend a lot of sessions on games and online learning. What is a clear take-home message is that we need to include sessions to capacitate our AHPEL fellows on best practice for online teaching/learning (or frankly some basic competence) on how to do this because it is NEVER going to go away! Next year AMEE is going to be in Glascow – I am highly unlikely to attend…but let us know if you do! But here is a personal tip for submitting an abstract to AMEE- they really like snappy titles so no boring ‘epidemiological triangles’ in your title please. Not sure what that is? Who; Where; When. For example: “The satisfaction of final year medical students with their clinical placements in Lyon from 2020-2022”. Think rather along the lines of: “The pandemic, the placements and the problems: a tale of the experiences of final year medical students”. Author: Prof Liz Wolvaardt

The Association of Health Professions Education and Leadership (AHPEL) was born from the former Sub-Saharan Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI), with a broader vision of leading health professions education and leadership. In addition to critical discourse around the scholarship of health professions education as it applies within the African context, AHPEL presents a fellowship in Health Professions Education. This fellowship is a two-year blended learning experience targeted at all health professions educators who are driven and passionate in improving the educational outcomes of their students from all over Africa. All fellows receive foundational knowledge related to health professions education and leadership driven by experienced and expert faculty from all over the continent through synchronous face-to-face and online sessions. This fellowship is targeted at all health professions and allows fellows to focus on specific tracks. These tracks are nested on the four pillars of academia namely, Research, Teaching and Learning, Leadership and Engaged Scholarship. Emphasis on tracks will be based on identified needs and available fundings. Currently, AHPEL is offering the fellowship in Health Professions Education and Leadership [Leadership Track]. Thanks to the generosity of Johnson and Johnson, 16 nurses are sponsored from six country namely, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, to engage with this track this year. Be on the lookout for opportunities and other tracks as they unfold. A fellowship in Health Professions Education for all health professions is a life changing experience. The Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Professions Education and Leadership (PGDip in HPEL) is another opportunity for expanding your competence in health professions education see: https://www.mpconsulting.co.za/products/online-cme/1045/postgraduate-diploma-in-health-professions-education-and-leadership Author: Dr Champion N Nyoni